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New Zealand's Hans Frauenlob aims the stone during a preliminary round curling match against the United States at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Morry Gash/AP/FILE

Newly crowned Team Canada show off their medals after their victory at the Canadian women's Olympic curling trials final in Edmonton, Alberta. The team consists of (left to right): Cheryl Bernard, Susan O'Connor, second Carolyn Darbyshire and Cori Bartel. Dan Reidlhuber/Reuters

American Olympic curler Nicole Joraanstad was a member of the heavily hyped 2006 U.S. women's curling team, dubbed the Curl Girls. The Girls flopped to eighth place due to overconfidence and lack of preparation, two mistakes Joraanstad vows not to repeat in Vancouver. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Former national champion and current USA Olympic curling team coach Wally Henry and his daughter Debbie McCormick are seen at the Green Bay, Wis. Curling Club. Since becoming part of the Olympic program at the 1998 Nagano Games, sport organizers have worked hard to shed curling’s reputation as a game played at weekends by unfit men and women. Morry Gash/AP

Team Canada Skips Kevin Martin and Cheryl Bernard share a moment in Richmond, British Columbia, on Jan. 30. Andy Clark/Reuters

American Deb McCormick (bottom center) prepares to release a stone as her teammates Nicole Joraanstad (bottom left) and Natalie Nicholson look on during the women’s World Curling Championships against Canada in Gangneung, South Korea in March 2009. At top is Sweden's Anette Norberg and center is Italy's skip Diana Gaspari. Ahn Young-joon/AP

Canada's men’s curling team captain Kevin Martin (center) follows a shot against Switzerland as Marc Kennedy (left) and Ben Hebert sweep at the 2009 men's World Curling cCampionship in Moncton, New Brunswick. Maple Leaves will waving high and plenty at the Vancouver Olympic Center, as curling's popularity in Canada is second only to the country's more well-known pastime: hockey. Andrew Vaughan/ The Canadian Press/AP/File

Laura Hallisey of Medford, Mass., 'throws' a rock during practice before participating in the fifth draw at the USA Olympic Curling Trials in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 23, 2009. David Zalubowski/AP/File

The newly crowned Team Canada led by Kevin Martin (left), John Morris (second from left), Marc Kennedy (second from right), and Ben Hebert (right). Though developed by the Scots, the sport was perfected by the Canadians. Dan Reidlhuber/Reuters

Britain's general elections used to be straightforward: a predominantly two-horse race between Labour or Conservative governments, left vs. right, red against blue. But as electioneering gets under way for May 7 polls, it's clear the vote has implications for British politics that extend well beyond whoever comes out on top.